The Latest Travel Trend? Bringing a Professional Photo Crew on Vacation With You

Move over, Instagram boyfriends.

by Christina Pérez

For better or worse, traveling these days can be just as much about capturing like-worthy content as it is about discovering the joys of an exotic place. Pictures or it didn’t happen, right? Or, as Drake more bluntly puts it, “she finally got to Rome / and all she did was post pictures for people at home.” We’re all guilty.

Christian Oth

Still, there are certain times when getting a little over-the-top with your vacation photos makes perfect sense. One such situation? Your destination wedding. Another one? Your honeymoon. Or, for the Insta-happy couple, commemorating your engagement–just in time to craft your save the dates, or your wedding website.

But while most couples hire a professional photographer for their big day, very few also bring them along on their post-nuptial vacays. Not because it doesn’t seem like a great idea—after all, who wouldn’t want gorgeous photos with their new spouse in a beautiful setting, especially when you’re likely to be sun kissed and relaxed?—but because that service just hasn’t really been a thing yet. Until now.

Christian Oth

With the launch of Christian Oth and Black Tomato’s Jetsetters service, couples can not only plan an amazing bespoke vacation, but they can also bring a photographer along to capture the moment. And not just any photographer, but one of the top wedding photographers in the world.

“Christian’s editorial and lyrical photographic style is so well-respected,” explains Black Tomato co-founder Tom Marchant. “I view him as a fellow storyteller, a true leader in the space. Our clients have increasingly been asking us for unique and special ways to capture their Black Tomato experiences.”

Christian Oth

And unique and special it is. Unlike travel services like El Camino or Flytographer, which provide a photographer to quietly and candidly capture group vacation shots, Black Tomato’s Jetsetters service is all about delivering super high-end results—and allowing the photoshoot be part of the actual travel experience as well. “We wanted to create travel experiences that are photographed by a photographer who’s well versed in shooting fashion editorials,” explains Oth, who, to that end, provides a pre-shoot consultation and brings an entire team of fashion stylists, hair and makeup artists, and a producer along on the trip. “It’s the kind of a shoot that you would normally only find [in] commercial or editorial [work]—the concept is photo-optimized travel experiences, inspired by fashion photography.”

Christian Oth

In this case, it seems Drake might have it wrong: the fun of Black Tomato’s Jetsetters concept is that you get to participate in the actual experience of a professional, celeb-worthy photo shoot. And, best of all, you get to put the content creation in someone else’s hands. Marchant explains it this way: “In our digitally connected universe, ephemeral moments are oft lost with the nagging desire to document them yourself; Christian’s team captures these in an incomparable and memorable way.”

Christian Oth

Of course, this kind of bespoke service and trip doesn’t come cheap: Depending on a variety of factors, a five-night trip for two with Oth’s team in tow can run anywhere from $19,000 to $40,000–or more. But for those who want to add an indelible experience to an already unforgettable chapter in their lives, it may be well worth the cost. “One of our clients, Kristin, said her shoot with us was the best day of her life,” says Oth. “Of course, she said that again a month and half later when she got married, but we loved hearing that her Jetsetters shoot was up there too.”